Runner
by Cosmic Sky
Summary: Even outside of the Metaverse Ryuji's still a runner, and in a time of ease and relaxation Akira was reminded of that fact, and how close a friend he was. Platonic Joker and Ryuji friendship.


**Just like with Heroes and Villains there's no romance in this one, just two of my favorite Persona 5 characters having a friendly chat with each other.**

 **I do not own anything.**

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"I figured this is where he'd be."

"If he wanted to run so much he should have just waited until we got down to Mementos, there he'd be able to run all he wants." Morgana muttered from his place in the bag.

Ironically Akira knew what Morgana had just stated was actually part of the problem-Mementos was the only place Ryuji could run, run and never look back. While he knew his feline companion might not have had much love for Ryuji Akira did thus he was able to see the slight pain that manifested on his face whenever they returned from Mementos. Some days it was greater than others, some days he was able to hide it behind the aftermath of the power rush that came with exploring the alternate world.

This apparently was one of those days the blond needed to blow off some steam. Akira decided he'd stay and watch to make sure he didn't blow out too much. His friend had a tendency to take certain things, like his voice, to their highest level without even know.

Taking a silent place on the blenchers he watched Ryuji finish another lap. What followed was a quick five minute break then he was at it again, and that pattern continued until the blond punk finally stumbled. Naturally Akira's first instinct was to run over to him, and he almost did so, until he saw Ryuji shoot him a pained smile from across the field.

"At the rate this is going he's going to kill himself before we infiltrate the next Palace."

"You almost sound worried Morgana." Akira grinned.

"Hmph, as if I'd be worried about that monkey." The feline snorted looking away with a haughty frown. "Given how small our group is we just need all the manpower we can get, unfortunately, that idiot makes up a good bulk of our power."

"And there you go, you just admitted Ryuji was useful, I can't wait to tell him you care." The glasses-wearing teen chuckled. As he expected Morgana quickly jumped out of the bag and made several attempts at clawing his face off, and predictable Akira caught the blue-eyed fur ball and held him at arm's distance. "What's wrong Morgana? Don't you know it's important to build team trust? We are a team aren't we?"

Seeing it was futile Morgana stopped struggling causing Akira to put the talking feline back down. With a huff he crawled back into the bag and resolve to remain there until it was time to leave. Of course he told Akira to make sure Ryuji didn't tire himself out as he would be needed in a few days.

"You could just tell him that yourself."

For a response he got a less than frightening hiss that caused him to chuckle. Akira could understand his best friend's constant teasing of Morgana, especially when the Persona-wielding cat attempted to act scary, it just didn't work. Turning back to his teammate Akira could still make out the passionate fire burning in Ryuji's eyes as he pushed his body further and further. It was obvious he was straining himself, and it was hurting, but he kept pushing through it. In the back of his mind he admitted Morgana might have been right about Ryuji potential injuring himself, thus he needed to be there for him. In addition to watching his friend Akira made sure to keep a close eye on the area around him, though it looked deserted Akira knew how quickly things could change, especially given their luck.

Though they'd settled on something of an uneasy truce Ryuji's former teammates had made it clear they didn't appreciate him using the track field, even if he had a right to as a Shujin student. Akira had a quiet "discussion" with some of them who'd taken extreme issue with it. Even if Ryuji believed in fighting his own battles there were some simply too big to be fought alone.

Almost thirty minutes later and Ryuji finally ran out of his steam, outright collapsing on the pavement with sweat covering his entire body. His legs were practically screaming at him for overworking them and his arms felt like a pair of bricks, even the slightest attempt at movement resulted in extreme pain. His heartbeat was a nonstop thunderclap in his ears that left his chest in slight pain and every breath he took a much needed intake of air.

"You know, if Ann were here she'd have something to say about seeing you all worn out like this." Akira's voice sounded before a cool towel fell over the male blonde's face.

"Oh come on, it's not like…I'm…shit, I'm too tired to even make up an excuse."

"Case-in-point, congrats though, that's probably the longest I've ever seen anyone run." The glasses-wearing teen laughed sitting cross-legged beside his heavily breathing friend.

"Good to…know…I've…impressed you." Ryuji managed to laugh through his struggling lungs.

There they lay, the former track star flat on his back and the transfer student sitting cross-legged beside him, both of them continently watching the few clouds in the sky pass by. If anyone passed by they'd no doubt think the two were up to something, which wouldn't have been too far off since they were steadily on the path to becoming Japan's most wanted. A teacher who happened upon them no doubt would have had a long lecture to give or hauled the two of them to the office thinking they were up to something shady. Luckily for them, no such person came.

"You know you don't have to hang around me right? You can go home if ya' want Akira." Ryuji suddenly said.

"Who said I'm hanging around here because of you? Maybe I'm just here because I want to be." The messy-haired boy chuckled leaning back on his palms.

"Seriously, how do you do that? Every time I try to act cool like that all I get is girls laughing at me then walking away making me feel like a doofus?" he pouted trying to sit up only to fail.

"What can I say? Some people have the gift, others don't." Akira shrugged removing his glasses to wipe his eyes. "It's just an opinion, but you should just stop trying to act all cool when you know you're going to fail, especially when it comes to women. Not every girl goes for the smooth-talking type, at least the not ones you want to be in a relationship with."

"I guess I should take that to heart since you're the smoothest talking person I know, and you still don't have a girlfriend yet." Ryuji chuckled despite the dying pain in his chest. "Then again, considering some people are still talking shit about you because of what Kamoshida said, it just kind of pisses me off that they still believe it even after being exposed for as a sexually predator and A-class asshole."

"They can believe with they want, I really don't care what they have to say about me." Akira waved off passing his friend a water bottle. "Just don't let it get to you too much, anyone who says something stupid about me just because of word of mouth isn't worth the time it takes to correct them."

Finally Ryuji found the strength to sit upright, and at just the right time. "How the hell do you do it?" he finally mouthed looking at his best friend with a strange mix of frustration and amazement. "Whenever I hear someone pissing on me, well, you know." Ryuji looked away with a hint of embarrassment in his voice and anger in his eyes. Given what he'd learned about the self-styled delinquent Akira didn't blame him for being ashamed.

At some point Akira knew Ryuji was going to ask him that question. Truthfully he'd been asked several times just how he and the blond got along so well, they were polar opposites from appearance to personality, and that wasn't even counting how they acted in the Metaverse where he played the classy crook and Ryuji was the "dumb" muscle. "If you want to be honest…I've never really cared much what other people thought of me." Without a care the dark-haired boy lay flat on his back with his head in his hands with a blank expression on his face. "Ever since I was a kid people have always found me to be a little 'off' compared to others, I really didn't know why they did, but they just said there always seemed to be something a little funny about me."

"Sounds to me more like they just didn't like you and wanted to find an excuse for it." The Phantom Thieves' strongman countered.

"Most of that that turned out to be the case, for the most part though I just ignored it all because I had better things to do. One time in junior high this prick tried to bat me into a fist fight in front of everyone because I'd shown him up one time too many, guess what I did."

Even if Ryuji didn't have a vivid imagination based solely on the smirk on Akira's face he could guess how things went. "You walked away like some cool badass and I take it he tried to sucker punch you?" he grinned.

Returning the grin Akira gave a dark laugh at the memory. "Damn right I did, the guy's face was practically steaming red when he came at me; I never threw one punch because I knew I didn't have to. Eventually he ended up hitting a locker just as the teachers showed up and hauled both of us to the office. I got chewed out, but nothing too bad since I technically hadn't done a damn thing, not even open my mouth and goad him. When my dad came to pick me up he said I was just like him in that way." There was a pregnant pause as the knife-wielder looked over at his hard-hitting comrade. Seeing the relaxing of his shoulder and look in his eyes gave Akira the signal to continue. "Apparently like him I'm just one of those people who doesn't care too much what others think of him. My dad put it to me like this, 'When you let others opinions become your personal opinion then you're just a puppet on a string', I took that to heart. Sure I can get angry, it's pissed me off just how low people around here think of me just because of some bullshit rumor spread around by an asshole teacher, but I know better than to waste my time going off on every one I meet."

At first Ryuji was silent as he simply stared at his friend who turned to face him, he was beginning to get a little nervous given the intensity of his friend's eyes. Finally a heavy sigh left his lips and he fell flat on his back. "Damn, why can't I have that kind of cool head? If I did…I wouldn't…the track team would still be…I really wish I could be like you sometimes."

"Well, for the record, given what you went through I'd say you've got nothing to be ashamed of. If someone brought my parents, my family life then…you've got nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to giving Kamoshida what he deserved." Akira offered.

"Yeah, but it got the track team disbanded and it had everyone at each other's throats."

"Yeah, and thanks to you the track team's coming back, hopefully free of the its previous problems." The calmer of the two retorted. "Which reminds me, do you plan on going back to the track team? From what I've heard some of the guys actually want you back after all the shit you went through for everyone."

Again, the blond teenager looked away. "Yeah, about that…I've…decided not, not now at least. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to but…"

"But…" Akira repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"I know the track team's in good hands now, and you guys need me way more than they do." He finally answered with a wink.

"HAH!"

"Zip it ya' damn cat!"

Akira thought of how this new situation looked: two teenagers practically sun bathing on the track field, one of them arguing with a cat. _Who knew being prohibition could be so fun._ The Phantom Thieves' leader mentally laughed as the shouting match between his feline and human teammates continued until Morgana muttered something about trees and trotted off. "True, if we lost you we'd be out one hell of a strong man. Not that Yusuke and Makoto aren't tough in their own right."

"True, I mean what kind of thieving crew would be without its muscle." Both boys shared a laugh as a rare summer breeze cooled them down.

"You know I have absolutely zero idea how long this Phantom Thief thing is going to last, for all I know I may be keeping you away from the track team for the rest of the school year." Akira admitted with a touch of sadness in his voice. Though he valued Ryuji as both his friend and a teammate he didn't want him surrendering his dreams on what others would have considered a fool's adventure. Especially one that seemed to grow more and more dangerous by the day.

"Heh, when you say it like that you make it sound like I'm only a part-timer or something." He laughed standing up to his full height. "I love track, but compared to running around in the Metaverse, changing the world by exposing as many shitty adults as we can, I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Akira had to admit, Ryuji Sakamoto was many things: loud, brash, hasty, short-tempered, and most of all he was honest. It was all those things that actually made him extremely grateful they'd met each other and developed into such close friends. _We're both outsiders, so it figures we mash so well together, even if I'm the classy gentleman and you're the strongman._ As Skull he could run to his heart's content, run and never look back, but most importantly he was able to run with the people he called his friends. Akira knew that was the underlying reason for Ryuji sticking with the team, partially because in a way all four human members of the Phantoms Thieves felt that way, it's what drew them to each other. "I won't deny being a Phantom Thief on the side certainly nets us better pay than being in school clubs."

At that Ryuji admittedly flushed, he'd taken his share of their spoils and exploited it for personal use just like everyone else. Granted not all of it was solely for himself. "Hey, you think one day we'll ever be able to rip off a head honcho or something? I mean someone with a Palace filled to the brim with money we could actually take into the real world?"

"Still sour over Kaneshiro?"

"Like you wouldn't be! I mean come one! All that money, and we barely got a cent of it out into the real world!"

With a shrug Akira stood up stretching his arms and legs. "We'll just have to see what fortune throws our way. Maybe when we get our next target their Palace will be filled with gold bricks we can take with us and sale for a load of yen. Do you plan on buying your mom something special again?"

"S-Shut up Akira!" The former track star exclaimed at his friend's grinning face. "Seriously! Not here at school! Aren't you and Ann always telling me to keep my voice down in public?"

"Sorry, couldn't help it." The glasses-wearing thief answered waving his hands. "How'd she like the vase you bought her?"

"I-wait, how'd you know about that?"

"Simple, you had your eyes on it the last time Ann took us shopping, even Yusuke said it was of excellent design, that it would make a nice gift. We had some leftover money from selling Kaneshiro's briefcase that we all split pretty evenly."

"Alright, alright, she loved it, really, wouldn't let me breath until I was practically gasping for air." The pipe and hammer-wielding thief admitted trying to hide his blush. "Just…don't let the others know that's what I spent my money on okay? Or anyone at school know."

"Your secret's safe with me." Another thing they shared in common, both Akira and Ryuji kept their home lives private, extremely private. Akira because he liked it that way, and Ryuji…for obvious reasons. "She's lucky to have you so consider joining a college team."

"Huh?"

"Track I mean," Akira explained already walking towards the blenchers to gather their things. "Make sure to pay her back by becoming a college track star, we'll all be rooting for you then."

For a while Ryuji simply stood there, dumbfounded at what his best friend had just said. From personally experience he knew Akira had a way of…inspiring people, using some rather strange and other times mundane tactics. One of them was off-handedly complimenting people when they least expected it, just like he had done for him. Looking between the ground and his friend's retreating form he finally worked up the courage to speak. "Akira!" When he turned he felt his mouth go dry almost immediately, shyness overwhelming him. "Do you…really think I could…I mean, in the Metaverse yeah, but here in the real world-"

"You just ran about ten solid laps around this field without so much as complaining about your leg once, you don't need to be Skull to be a great runner." Akira stated clear as day. "You already were one, and no one can change that."

At that moment Ryuji felt as if the entire world had come to a sudden stand-still, including himself. It was a good thing there wasn't anyone else around, because if they were they would have been treated to the rare sight of Ryuji Sakamoto being entirely speechless, and on the verge of possibly crying. The blond-haired teen quickly realized that and wiped his face with his towel in an attempt to hide the mounting emotions.

"So, you wanna go for some ramen?"

"Definitely!"

"Here I was hoping for sushi," Morgana pouted walking up beside Akira's leg.

"You know, I've always wondered something," Ryuji stated joining the two. "Even if you're not a cat, you still act like one, so how come you don't go down to the river and try catching some fish of your own?"

After everything he'd been through getting a death glare from a cat didn't frighten Ryuji that much, especially when he actually ahd to look down at said cat who didn't even come up to his knees.

"I. Am. Not, A. Cat! As if I'd debase myself by resorting to such low standards simply for a meal! I-"

"Went completely moon-eyed for all the gold bars in Kaneshiro's Palace." Ryuji grinned to which Akira laughed.

"Grrr, I don't know why I put up with you two!"

"Because without us you wouldn't have any students to teach in the art of Phantom Thieving?" Akira innocently offered.

"Because without us you've got zero chances of getting your memories back?" Ryuji added raising an eyebrow.

"…I want food, feed me." Morgana growled before trotting off into Akira's bag.

"You ever thought this is how you'd spend a summer?" Ryuji spoke up.

"Nope, really, when I came to Tokyo I never thought I'd be sneaking into the subconscious minds of people, changing their entire personalities, getting rich overnight, and taking marching orders from a talking cat."

"I am not a cat!"

"Sure you're not!" Ryuji called.

"But I wouldn't trade any of it, or the people I've met, for the world."

With a laugh the Phantom Thieves lighting-throwing muscleman threw his arm around his leader and friend. A short time later and both boys were walking off school grounds, appearing on the surface nothing more than a pair of high school friends enjoying a summer day. That wasn't exactly too far from the truth as they were indeed high schoolers and best friends, who also happened to be members of what was rapidly becoming Japan's most wanted, a fact both took a great amount of pride in. For all the faults they each had, for all the differences there was one undeniable similarity between the glasses-wearing transfer student and loud-mouthed delinquent, and that was they were natural born-troublemakers.

And they were proud of it.

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 **Out of all the "best friend" duos in the series, Akira and Ryuji are probably my favorite. Despite his faults Ryuji's actually one of my favorite characters because at his core he really is a nice guy, the kind you'd definitely want as a friend. One thing I liked about Akira and Ryuji is the fact they couldn't be bigger opposites if they tried, from their appearances, personalities, right down to their Personas. Despite all that, they're best buds through and through so I decided to write a little piece on that.**


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